Page 35 - James Caan - The Real Deal

3 · Breaking Free

From his behaviour I was pretty sure he was thinking that I would
be back in a week, but I made it clear that I was going for good. He
was livid and visibly upset and started saying things like: ‘I brought
you up better than this! After everything I’ve done for you this is
how you repay me!’ And, of course, ‘You’re letting me down.’
He told me how he had all these plans for me and how we were
going to build up the business together. I knew this was his main
concern and so I told him that if I carried on at school and went
to university I wouldn’t be joining the business until I was
twenty-one anyway.
‘I don’t need qualifications for what I’m going to do, I need
experience. Please let me do this, and then I can come and work
for you when I’m twenty-one. For you it’s no different, but for me
it’s a chance to learn in the real world.’
To my amazement he accepted that this was probably true, but
he was still furious. ‘What are your brothers going to think? What
kind of example are you setting?’
Our conversation went on for maybe forty minutes, and I knew
that I had to stop myself from rising to the bait. I couldn’t give in;
I told myself, ‘Whatever he says, however he tries to persuade me
that I’m stupid or selfish or thankless, I know I can’t say anything
that will give him any hope that I will change my mind.’
‘I understand,’ I said when he told me what a good job working
with him would be, ‘but it’s not for me.’
Throughout the discussion I didn’t say much, but I was quite
clear. I knew that I couldn’t let him draw me into a debate because
it would have escalated into a row, and, as our conversation went
on, his anger and incomprehension grew.
‘You’re wrong, you’re not going!’
‘I’m sorry, but I am.’
I kept my sentences short and answered with lots of ‘yeses’ and
‘nos’ in an attempt to keep a lid on his anger. Finally, his temper
subsided and he just became upset, and obviously hurt.

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